Chapter 22 Be Worthy

~Anna~

So, we were finally here in his home, the Red Claw Pack. The car we were following pulled over and so did we, in front of what I would describe as a castle-like mansion! The gray stone walls of the exterior coupled with the white window casings of the tall glass windows and light blue-gray shingles gave off an air of elegance and style. My eyes widened slightly at the sight of his abode which was bigger than back at my old pack.

I turned to him and blurted, “You live here?”

The smile on my face disappeared. He was looking ahead with a serious expression on his face, not answering me. Gale wasn’t saying a thing too and that was when I realized that the atmosphere had suddenly gotten tense.

“Liam?” I asked my nerves on edge. Something was going on that they weren’t telling me, and it was starting to scare me.

He threw me a side glance, then spoke in an imposing tone.

“I agreed to three conditions. Now you’ll abide with mine.”

“Liam?”

The Liam I was facing now sat with his back straight and his hands clasped in front of him. His features hardened at the mention of his name, and my palms began to feel warm. What had I gotten myself into?

“First, you will address me as Alpha or Sir. And second, you will respect my decisions as my Luna.”

What is he talking about? This can’t be real.

“Two conditions. We had a deal. I will follow your conditions. Now I need you to follow mine.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, raising my voice a little higher than usual. “Is this some sort of a prank? Gale, say something.”

Gale didn’t answer me, but I noticed his hands grip the steering wheel. I faced Liam. He was looking at me with stone-cold eyes. It scared me. He scared me. Last night, he was this sweet sulking baby with anger management issues and now he was acting authoritarian. He was acting the way he was – an Alpha… the Alpha.

I tried to smile to hide my nervousness, but my voice was shaky as I spoke.

“What’s going on?”

He raised a hand. I held my breath as I froze. I closed my eyes, expecting him to hit me. Instead, I felt myself getting lifted off the seat and when I opened them, I found myself in the same position as last night – on his lap, again. A hand on my lower back to support me, he rested his chin on the top of my head.

“Breath,” he said, and I let out a breath. He pulled me closer to him, cradling me like a baby, and somehow, I knew that something was troubling him. It violated the first condition, but I wasn’t so heartless as to push him away now.

“Liam?”

“Do we have a deal?”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you in time, I promise. Please trust me this once and say ‘yes.”

That violated the second rule. We didn’t know anything about each other. His story with his own parents and the first mate was still in the back of my mind.

I will learn the truth about them.

I didn’t trust him enough to consent to whatever he just asked of me. And his first condition – I might consider calling him “Alpha” but I refuse to call him “Sir”.

“Tell me now,” I said. “And I’m not calling you ‘Sir’. Keep dreaming.”

A growl rippled from his chest. I kept forgetting that he was Alpha Liam Rose that I kept running my mouth. If this was back in the White Lake Pack, and I didn’t know that I was his mate, I wouldn’t have dared talk back to him. But I was his mate.

A mate was a werewolf’s other half. Our mate completed us. Mates shared each other’s joy and pain and stand by each other at all times. Mates cherished and loved each other, and the bond ran deeper than physical needs.

A Luna was equal to her Alpha. I’d accepted that he’s my mate, I’d accepted that he’s my Alpha now that I was to live with his pack, but I was yet to come into terms with being a Luna.

I could feel our connection. I was constantly reminded of it by his unique calming scent, with the jolt of electricity that zaps through my being when he touches me, and the way my heart skips a beat when his eyes settle on me.

This time, I wanted to be worthy to be a Luna, the Red Claw Pack’s Luna. To be the mate that completed his missing half, despite being wolf-less. He agreed to give me space, gain my trust, and respect my free will.

If he wanted my affirmation, he didn’t have to make a deal with me just so I would call him “Alpha”. If he wanted me to respect his decisions, I would’ve done it on my own. There was something wrong here, but as my mate, I trust that he would let me know sooner or later. However…

“I’m your mate. I’ll stand by you. I’ll be here when you need me,” I said. “I understand that you won’t tell me now, but I hope after some time, you’d share your burdens with me.”

I looked up at him and raised a hand to his cheek. “Now stop the drama and welcome me home -” I said, smiling, then adding “- Alpha.”

I’ll prove myself to you. I’ll spare us the pain of rejection. So, show me, that this is worth my freedom.

His lips crashed on mine, and I gave him dominance. Slow then needy, he broke the kiss leaving me breathless.

We stared at each other’s eyes and the coldness in them was gone, replaced with my reflection. He opened his mouth to speak, but a shrilled voice interrupted.

“Liam, you’re back!”

He raised his head to look out the window and I did the same. Walking over to us in graceful steps was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen in my life. Her heart-shaped face framed hooded green eyes and pouty lips, the tresses of her shoulder-length blonde hair bouncing off her shoulders, and her snow-white skin glowed. The pink cropped top and booty shorts she wore left nothing to the imagination. She oozed confidence and I found myself getting self-conscious the more I stared.

“Anna,” Liam said, pulling me away from my thoughts. “You’re my Luna.”

He placed me back on my seat. Before I could react, he was already outside the car.

This is totally unfair!

“I missed you, Liam!” that woman exclaimed. I regretted looking outside.

My mate had his back to me. The woman’s legs were locked around his waist, and her slender arms were on his shoulders.